Fueling Options

[Dick B in KY]

How many planes were refueled during WW II without grounds, using barrels, hand pumps and whatever was around in the middle of nowhere? I don't recall seeing many pics of planes blowing up during those operations. Being safe is always a concern and common sense is always best.

Dick B

PS - I use plastic cans to fuel my a/c all the time.

[t j]

Okay here's my personal experience with static from plastic gas jugs. Sometimes when pouring fuel out of my plastic jugs I could hear a faint crackling sound. Kind of like radio static.

One time I was pouring fuel into my pickup in the dark. The static sound was going on and then I noticed flashes of light like miniature lightning flashes inside the base of the translucent plastic gas jug spout while fuel was running through it. Scared the crap out of me.

These gas jugs had pieces of foam rubber inside the spouts...to serve as filters. I took the foam out of the spout and the crackling and lightning stopped and I haven't heard it or seen it sense.

My theory is gasoline flowing through the foam filters was generating static and the only reason I hadn't blown myself up was that the air/fuel mixture in the spout was too rich to ignite. If I hadn't happened to pour fuel in the dark I would have never figured out what that sound was.

Here's another true personal experience. I worked for a Mobile fuel distributor when I was a kid. This guy would check the fuel level in his snowmobile at night using a lit match held in the opening of the filler neck to see the fuel level. Scared the crap out of everyone but him. His theory was that the temperature was too cold for gasoline to give off fumes the match could ignite.

One hazard in my opinion is plastic gas jugs carried in plastic pickup bed liners. If you slide the fuel jug on the plastic truck bed it creates static. I made a wood box to carry my fuel jugs in the back of my pickup. I set the jugs on the ground before filling them at the gas station and set them on the ground again after I carry them to the airplane to fuel it up.

[Paul Z]

I knew a man that owned Philips Flying Ranch east of Rockwall Texas. He had several aircraft, including a Stearman BiPlane. He was filling his Stearman with 5 Gallon Plastic Gas cans and a spark. He said he watched it go up in flames in a matter of seconds.

[SkySteve]

I have a fuel bag sold by Airframes Alaska which I always carry with me in the backcountry to refuel. It is designed for, and used to refuel aircraft in the Alaska bush. It is "OD Green" in color and made of some type of rubbery material. Very strong and lays flat when empty. Many, if not all of you are familiar with it. I wonder why (and if) this bag is "OK"? They sell it as an aviation refueling bag.

[PapuaPilot]

Using plastic jugs can be very risky like several have mentioned. Plastic is very good at creating static but a poor conductor. The standard we use where I work is to wipe a plastic jug with a damp cloth before refueling. This gets rid of the static.

When I flew float planes I just dunked the fuel jugs in the river before refueling. I have safely done LOTS of refueling from plastic jerry cans. When I flew the amphib TU206 I usually launched with one way fuel and had to refill it just to get back home. Ahh, memories of standing on top of the wing, while the plane bobbed in the waves, having to fill up to 40 gallons (8 jugs) of avgas just to get back home. I did one way fuel to maximize the useful load. The amphib TU206 with me and minimum fuel could only carry about 300 lbs. With full fuel I could only take 30 lbs! When I started flying the amphib I called it the "useless" load. That's because a wheel 206 can carry around 1000 lbs, I flew a normally aspirated 206 that I could load a little over 1100 lbs of cargo on short flights.

We also use a Mr. Funnel which does a great job of filtering and keeping water out of your tanks, EXCEPT if you get the entire screen wet with water. In that case water can pass. I know first hand, it led to my only engine power loss, which was in the amphib 206. Fortunately I was at altitude when the power loss happened, which was just after switching to the right fuel tank. I was able to go back to the left tank and continue on without incident. I often think back to what might have happened if I had taken off on the right tank. At my next landing I discovered the right tank had 1-2 gallons of water in it from refueling. I didn't notice the water when I refueled. It got through the Mr. Funnel when the screen was entirely covered by water from one of the jugs.

[Paul Z]

I looked at those Jugs. Man they are pricy!